Anyone raise thier own gamebirds?

[Mr. 16 gauge]

First off, let me just say that I prefer using pigeons for dog training, but they are getting more and more difficult to come by anymore......used to go and get my own by prowling the freeway underpasses after dark and shining a light in their eyes and scooping them with a salmon net....cheap and easy. Now 9/11 has changed things....attempting to shine a light under an overpass will bring a rapid police response & a whole lot of hassles.:(

I've been visiting some websites and watching some videos on youtube and I'm toying with the idea of raising a few quail and/or chukars for my own dog training needs....nothing fancy or big; maybe something like 2 dozen birds or so. I plan on getting them as eggs, hatching them out in an incubator, brooding them and them setting them up in a pen in my backyard.

Anyone ever tried/done this? I have a hard time getting out to the clubs/shooting preserves.....I have one of those jobs where I don't know for sure what I am doing from one moment to the next....it would be nice to be able to just pack up my gear/birds/dogs and go for a few hours in the evening when I get the chance.

Finally, anyone who has done this.....I'm also looking for books, websites, ect., for more information.

Thanks in advance..........

[skeet]

I have raised quail and pheasants years ago. Friend and I set up a shooting preserve. That wasn't too bad but raising the birds was a real pain. We wanted good flying birds and you have to have a good pen for that. And then the state came in and wanted us to have a permit to raise 'em.... for a fee of course. Got to be too much of a pain. Check with Nulle. Think he raises birds.:)

[Nulle]

Yup I raise a ton of them each year. Got away from the pheasant as they take more room and time then I want to spend. Quail are easy and the chukars are also. Drop me a pm with your email and I will send all ya need to get started.

[Nulle]

First Bob Whites of the season.

[Rapier]

Interesting post,
Let's see if we can expand it a bit but on the same subject. I have several covies of wild quail on the farm I bought last year. I was thinking about raising birds and putting them out, but was told not to do so. The reason was that wild birds have no risastance to pen raised bird diseases and introducing pen raised birds onto the farm might kill off my wild birds.

The guy next door tried to raise a dozen turkeys last year, that was a disaster as his "wild" birds never went wild and live in the woods but will walk up to you when you are in the woods. I guess he should have flogged them with a coyote pelt or something. :-)
Thoughts?
Best,
Ed

[Nulle]

BULL ! They introduce pen birds to wild all the time without this being a problem. Just make sure your pen birds come from a pollurium free flock and you will have no problem.

[skeet]

I used to turn 'em loose all the time in Md. Some did live and I had no problem with the wild birds becoming sick.. The only thing that was hard on the introduced birds was predators. Probably lose 1/2 of 'em to predators before they learn that stuff wants to eat 'em.:eek:

[Rapier]

Well Nulle, If they are OK to release to the widl the how old do they need to be before you release them? I think I have the habitat thing figured out pretty much as they are there now.
Best,
Ed

[Nulle]

I release mine when they are 8 weeks or with good feathers to protect them from the weather. The State requires them to be released at 13 weeks on shooting preserves but I feel this is way too old and they are not the good wild bird you would like.
We also take the feeders away a few weeks before release and also go with a natural food supply rather then the pellet baged stuff.